Apr 2, 2017
Day Six: Favorite Quirk/Trait - The Mendelsmirk™!
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Day Six: Favorite Quirk/Trait - The Mendelsmirk™!
Day Two: Favorite Photoshoot - The Sydney Magazine (2010)
(submitted by @missmendelsohn)
It’s almost the end of Mendelweek, but we’re still on day 6 today!
Day Six (April 2nd): Favorite Quirk/Trait!
Prompt help: Pretty self-explanatory, whether it’s the Mendelsmirk, Mendelsmile or Mendelgiggle; his adorable fidgeting too, tell us which of his quirks you love best!
Day Four: Favorite Co-Star - Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)
- Choose between: ‘I love you’ and ‘I know’.
Ben: “I love you.”
Mads: “I know.”
(submitted by @missmendelsohn)
Day Five: Favorite Role - Danny Rayburn in Netflix’s ‘Bloodline’
“…. And the Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role goes to Ben Mendelsohn!!!” (September 2016)
11 episodes in 11 weeks; as of this day, that is how much I’ve seen of Bloodline season 1. And honestly, I would have needed to just have seen the first episode itself to know for sure that this is my favorite Ben Mendelsohn role (that is exactly what happened). We start off by seeing Danny Rayburn, fast asleep on a bus on the way to Islamorada, Florida to his family’s inn and even before his first appearance, his presence is felt as news of his arrival reverberates amongst his family members.
Black sheep. Troubled. Crude. Selfish. Heartless. Those are some of the words that seem to be attributed to Danny, whether explicitly or not, he definitely is not liked by a lot of people. And yet, from the moment I saw him and watched the whole episode, I found myself immediately captivated. And mesmerized. I didn’t know too much, not really, just that this is one of his best roles to date and I wanted to see it for myself. I knew I would obviously fall for Danny Rayburn, not just because it’s Ben Mendelsohn in the role, but because there is something about him that immediately catches your attention. I honestly can’t say what it was, but by the end of the episode… I was completely attached, protective and defensive about his character. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing heartless about him. In fact, I think Danny feels too much. After all of the pain and suffering and heartbreak he has gone through in his life, I’m pretty sure that putting up walls is only natural for him.
I think, it might just be the eyes though. The way Danny’s eyes reflect so much more than his words or actions. The episodes when we open to Danny himself, mostly if not always, alone. In deep thought. Those moments are the ones where you can see the struggle in his eyes, how empty, how tortured, how broken he is. Ben is one of the very few actors that I personally know who can convey dozens of emotions in a matter of minutes with only his eyes. And that shows so brilliantly at the end of episode 5, throughout episode 6, over a couple of scenes in episode 7 and just… completely and utterly raw in one particular scene in episode 11.
Was he flawed? Yes. Did he make wrong choices? Yes. Were things problematic and complicated as a result of his actions? Yes. And yet, Danny Rayburn is such a realistic character who is just a man trying to find a place where he belongs, with a family, with a home. He wanted to be accepted. To be loved. To be able to feel safe. There are brief moments when he smiles, when he laughs, and you wonder… how is this person capable of being anything ‘villainous’ or ‘the bad guy’? Because he isn’t.
He tugs on your heartstrings and he leaves a mark on your soul. That’s the kind of character he is. And Ben brought that to life with such a grace and realness that I was just left breathless from the moment I saw him onscreen. There’s two more episodes left for me to see, the whole of season 2 (including the episode that earned him a well deserved Emmy award!) and then the wait for season 3, the curtain call. And I know that Ben is going to continue to be just as phenomenal as Danny as he has been all this time!
Day One: Favorite Outfit - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Red Carpet
(submitted by @missmendelsohn)
Day One: Favorite Look - Orchestra!Ben (aptly named by @ben-mendelsohn-trash!)
(submitted by @missmendelsohn)
Here we are! Day 3 of Mendelweek!
Day Three (30th March): Role You’d Like To See Him In!
Prompt help: Ever dreamed of seeing Ben playing a Bond villain? Or perhaps 007 himself? Maybe a romantic lead? Something Shakespearean even! Think of this as an AU day and show us what kind of a role you want to see him play!